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Bluebooking 101

A legal citation follows a standard format which allows a lawyer to refer to legal authority so that other lawyers or judges can locate the document. It involves abbreviations which almost amount to a form of code. A legal citation seeks to identify the

Primary Sources

Cases, R.10, at  87

  1. Name of the case
  2. Where the case can be located
  3. The court that decided the case
  4. The year the case was decided
  5. Example: Smith v. Jones, 423 N.W.2d 324 (1993)

Statutes, R.12, at 111

  1. The title number
  2. The abbreviated name of the code
  3. The section number
  4. The date of code edition cited (spine of volume)
  5. Example: Red River Designation Act, 16 U.S.C. §1271 (1993)
  6. Example Pocket part: Red River Designation Act, 16 U.S.C.A. § 1274 (Supp. 2004)

Rules and Regulations, R.14 at 133

  1. The title or volume number
  2. The abbreviated name of the code
  3. The section number or part of the rule and/or regulation
  4. The year of the edition cited (in parenthesis)
  5. Example: 7 CFR § 201 (2005)